BTS Trans autopsy..

sootie · Nov 23, 2015

cjfarm111 said:
I'm running BTS and so far so good. And I called them before I ordered one and Brian was very helpful and answered a couple questions I had. That sealed the deal for me and I have probably 30k on it now and hasn't missed a lick

What power are you making

V-Ref · Nov 23, 2015

Whouda thunk that ATS trans were built with better internals than BTS?

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cjfarm111 · Nov 23, 2015

Never been on a dyno but guessing 425-450

sootie · Nov 23, 2015

cjfarm111 said:
Never been on a dyno but guessing 425-450

hence the reason you have a shot at having your BTS live...

Strokersace · Nov 23, 2015

sootie said:
hence the reason you have a shot at having your BTS live...

Pretty bold statement. From what I've seen. The ones having trouble are all not over 500. Any proof to backup tour claim?

mandkole · Nov 23, 2015

elrodalexander73 said:
The worst part is I hate even making an attempt to slander the guys at BTS, but this is why FORDS just don't improve like they should... There are so many good vendors on here, Midwest, Marty's, Full Force, P.I.S., Swamps, ********, Maryland Performance, and many others.... They all answer the phones 90% of the time and STAND behind their products!! For a guy to sell a trans for 4500 bucks that will only realistically hold 350hp that you expect to hold 500 and then you break it, and he won't answer the phone to help his customer base!! You can go on Comp D and there's entire 48RE and 47RE rebuild threads so their customers know what they are getting for their money!! I mean Morgan put an entire build thread on how to build a true 6.4 2.6 pull truck! That is exactly what the Ford community needs in my honest opinion... I'm thinking about posting my trans build once all my parts come in.

Agreed, there was never a beef with BTS and their ability-- other than the one phone call Brian took on earlier issues I had, I don't know them. Most of my interest came from the years of various forum members claiming them to be the holy grail of Ford transmissions. This was only education for me and sharing it with others on what you get for $4500. I don't ever plan to have more power than I have right now, so further upgrades probably don't matter.

I would certainly appreciate a thread on your build.

Rubenk · Nov 23, 2015

BTS 4r's have survived in countless 1000+ whp applications. I've been happy with my 5r so far too.

That doesn't mean other shops cant build a trans just as capable though.

sootie · Nov 23, 2015

Rubenk said:
BTS 4r's have survived in countless 1000+ whp applications. I've been happy with my 5r so far too.

That doesn't mean other shops cant build a trans just as capable though.

king kong shat one out at least. Nicks quad turbo truck only got a few miles and not much track time to my knowledge. what other 1000+ builds were you thinking of?

BOSS450 · Nov 23, 2015

Rubenk said:
BTS 4r's have survived in countless 1000+ whp applications. I've been happy with my 5r so far too.

That doesn't mean other shops cant build a trans just as capable though.

I went through two at around a thousand hp. First took a month to get back. Second one wouldn't have been back in time for rudys so I went s different rout.

Brian can definitely build a trans. That being said it drove very good on the street and was smooth. But I feel that was the downfall.

lincolnlocker · Nov 23, 2015

cjfarm111 said:
Never been on a dyno but guessing 425-450

what do you have done to your truck?

i have flogged the ever livin *** out of my bts.. i have yet to have a bad dealing with brian.. he went above and beyond for me more than once.. im still trying to wrap my head around all these low power failures.. even with stock internals, just a bts valve body and converter have been proven to hold over 400hp.. im above 450hp and i have never been easy on that trans... the things i have done to it should have melted it down... it has never gotten above 160°...

live life full throttle

Rubenk · Nov 23, 2015

sootie said:
king kong shat one out at least. Nicks quad turbo truck only got a few miles and not much track time to my knowledge. what other 1000+ builds were you thinking of?

Theres a local 6.4 pushing 1000 with a 4r, not sure if hes on the forums. I know several GT500's have as well. I know a truck is different story though.

It seems to be luck of the draw at those power levels for sure though. I just know I wouldnt worry about a BTS(or any other reputable shop) 4r at anything less than 1000whp having problems.

If you tear one up with 450hp then you have other issues IMO

Disclaimer: I'm not a trans builder.

TyCorr · Nov 23, 2015

Well, a lot of people have torn them up. One guy on heres dad killed one in a stock excursion. They are definitely out there. The guy with my old trans mudered one with about 8k miles of work truck duty.

emev0l · Nov 23, 2015

That trans was 9 years old, I'm sure he's made a couple upgrades, especially since he had that one rated at 475.

I'm at 573 and I boost launch mine on a regular basis, run sand drags with paddle tires over and over and over again without a break in between, a lot of donuts and burn outs, I've taken off hard enough to do rolling burnouts while pulling another diesel truck on a trailer. I only have 20,000 miles on the trans but it's a very abusive 20k.

Zero issues, zero complaints on the $4,820 price

I would be very curious as to what changes have been made over the last 10 years on his transmissions, but were not tearing mine apart to find out.

Powerstroker7.3 · Nov 23, 2015

I have not been easy on my bts and with a good 35k miles full of drag races and burnouts I haven't had a single problem. My truck makes close to 800 hp and I know of two other trucks that are running a bts that make over 1000 hp with no issues. I admit some things just happen but for the most part I find Brian to be a great transmission builder

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Layson · Nov 23, 2015

Well my friend has gone through (1) tranny and then a torque converter. He was essentially stock and I think he only had a few thousand miles on the first tranny and a few thousand on the second. Brian came through and got him set up both times. I think on the second one he even covered the fluid, filter, and even a brand new cooler from Ford.

I went through (1) torque converter. Brian got right on it and got me a new one very quickly. Then that one that only lasted 35 miles. Then the new one has been ok since. Still nervous about it. Brian was actually great to deal with on this.

My other friend has gone through (2) torque converters over the last couple of years. He has never gotten on his truck or even towed with it. Just driving around it failed once and then the second time it started pumping fluid out of the torque converter.

Then the OP also has a truck from a friend of mine and his had some issues. There is also another friend of mine who I unfortunately persuaded him to get a BTS and he had nothing but torque converter issues and actually Brian didn't help him. He wanted more diagnostic work done and my friend didn't want to mess with it. So the truck was sold.

I guess my point is every single person who I personally know that has a BTS in it here locally has had something go wrong with it. I feel bad for pushing them so much and telling people that it is the way to go. Now I get the calls from my friend who is 1,500 miles from home with a broken tranny....LOL

I am more leaning that these trannies are actually pretty tough in stock form for what they are. All you really need to do is get a good torque converter, shift kit, and a larger cooler and you will be good for some horsepower. Most likely just as good as what I have in my truck...LOL

I am willing to bet that the custom builds for the 1,000 horsepower trucks are probably different than the normal builds. We used to think that all the trannies were the same thing. But I don't think they are. I think that PI has had a seriously bad batch of torque converters since Brian actually doesn't build them himself.

Not really knocking BTS since they actually have taken care of everyone pretty quickly. But if I were to do this over again or if my torque converter takes a dump, it is getting something different in it.

psduser1 · Nov 23, 2015

Don't have a bts, but just reading about them, I'm torn.
At one time I'd have recommended one hands down to anyone. Now

I think it's like any other stock part modified to work at double, triple, maybe more hp levels than the original design parameters. Gonna be some failures, lol.
Sounds like some of the parts bts is subbing are biting him. And, 10 yrs, hell, 5 yrs ago, the 800hp and up club was very,very, exclusive.
Now it's getting somewhat easier, as the secrets are trickling out, and the limiting factor is the willingness to spend money, as opposed to actually doing the r&d. Imo.

FlatbedCowboy · Nov 23, 2015

little off topic but is this the same as the stock 26/31 row 6.0L trans cooler?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1805G05GYCHFSZ95KXHX

TyCorr · Nov 24, 2015

This was installed on a 2003, F350, 6.0L diesel. Anyone familiar w/ this truck knows what a pig it can be for various repair workputting it politely. I'll admit that I had some reservations with not buying OEM, but decided to roll the dice with this item. So far it was a good call. The item was sized like the original & the mounting brackets lined up perfectly. What you see is what you get. You will need to save the two rubber grommets on the bottom two brackets, the 4 bolts for mounting and supply your own lines/hoses. Some of the OEM units come with pieces of hose attached, but for the cost difference in savings, you can buy some quality high pressure hose from Napa or other. As someone else stated"It's a direct bolt on".*

Copied from the ad you posted....

swinky · Nov 24, 2015

Last year at a race a guy with a bts 5r broke his trans running 13.10s......

I think it didn't have the billet parts in it it was supposed to. It was more expensive than my twisted trans that has been doing great.

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Strokersace · Nov 24, 2015

swinky said:
Last year at a race a guy with a bts 5r broke his trans running 13.10s......

I think it didn't have the billet parts in it it was supposed to. It was more expensive than my twisted trans that has been doing great.

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Weren't you having TC issues recently??